Fire Emblem: A New Awakening
by ajani's apprentice
Summary: After Robin is found, a year after Grima's defeat, a celebration is held. But when a certain princess from the future leaves Robin is forced to look for her in order to get something off his chest.


Note: **My first Fire Emblem fanfic. I hope I did it right. It features my favorite pairing in Awakening, RobinxLucina. This also has some ChromxSumia in it though as parents more then lovers. I hope you guys like it. **

"Chrom, perhaps we should call off the search. It's nearing sunset." The man with brown hair and light blue armor said. Chrom, current Ylissean Exalt and leader of the Shepherds, shook his head.

"No Frederick. I'm not letting a single moment of daylight go to waste." he said to his deputy.

Lissa, Chrom's younger sister, spoke up. "Exactly! We're going to keep on going till we drop!" she said.

Frederick sighed. "Milord, can we please speak privately?" the knight asked.

Lissa pouted at possibly being left out and her pout grew as she heard Chrom say "Yes. Lissa, please leave us for a moment." Lissa sighed but didn't argue. A rare occurrence but given that she had been working all day and was nearing exhaustion it wasn't much of a surprise she gave in.

After Lissa left, and the two men were sure she was out of earshot, Chrom asked "So Frederick, what is it?"

Frederick looked visibly uncomfortable. However the man steeled himself. "My question had a second meaning Chrom."

Chrom looked confused for a moment before his eyes widened in surprise as he understood what Frederick meant. "You can't be serious Frederick!" Chrom said.

"I'm afraid I am milord." Frederick responded. "I of course want to find him as well but I also realize that it's very unlikely we'll find him even if he is alive. He's been gone for nearly a year now. Every day the chances of finding him lessen."

"That means nothing to me Frederick." Chrom responded, speaking through clenched teeth. "We owe it to him! I owe it to him!"

"And how long will you search?" Frederick asked, causing Chrom's anger to be replaced with uncertainty. "A year? Two? Ten? You can't go on forever."

Chrom looked down. "I don't know." he finally said after a few moments. "But I can't just give up on him."

"Would he want you to keep going though?" Frederick asked. "We've searched through almost all of Ylisse and are now looking through the surrounding countries. What will happen if we don't find him on the continent? He wouldn't want us to keep going after that, would he?"

Chrom couldn't give an answer. Lucky for him he didn't have to and never would as Lissa came running towards them shouting "WE FOUND HIM!"

Chrom and Frederick looked at her. "Are you serious?" Chrom asked.

"Would I joke about something like this?!" Lissa asked back. Chrom turned towards his deputy.

"I guess that question is one we'll never have to worry about." he said. The two then followed Lissa to a familiar place. It was the place where they found Robin nearly three-and-a-half years ago. And just like back then Robin was lying in the dirt. He wore the same clothes as he was wearing in their battle with Grima.

Chrom smiled. "It's him." the Exalt said. "It's Robin." Chrom then walked up to the tactician with Lissa right next to him. Frederick stayed back. He felt that it would be proper for his charges to meet with Robin first.

Chrom gently shook Robin and the tactician's eyes slowly opened. "Wha-I-who?" Robin asked, clearly confused.

"Welcome back to the land of the living my friend." Chrom said. "There are better places to take a nap then on the ground you know." Chrom then extended his hand. "Give me your hand." Robin took it with some hesitance. "Welcome back."

Robin looked at him for a moment strangely before recognition flooded onto his face. "Chrom." he said, getting up slowly with the Exalt's help.

"*Sniff* You're really back." Lissa said with tears in her eyes. Robin looked at her.

"Yes, I'm back." he said.

"And it's good to have you among us." Frederick said, walking up to them and extending his hand. Robin took it and the two men shook.

"How long have I been gone?" asked Robin. It couldn't have been too long as no one seemed to have aged much.

"Nearly a year." Chrom said. "You had us worried."

"I see. I'm sorry." Robin said automatically. Chrom shook his head. He wasn't going to ask why his friend felt the need to appolagize. It was his nature.

"Frederick, please call a meeting together." the Exalt said. "We're going to need messengers."

"Yes milord." Frederick said. As he walked off Robin gave Chrom a questioning look.

"We formed teams to search for you." Chrom explained. "Myself, Lissa, Frederick, Sumia and Kellam are here. Or I think Kellam is here. Hard to know with him."

Robin chuckled. "True." he agreed. As happy as he was though, something made him feel disappointed. He wasn't sure what though. It was in the back of his mind, refusing to come forward. The tactician shrugged it off for the moment.

"ROBIN!" a woman's voice was heard from above. Everyone looked up to see Sumia flying in on her pegasus. She landed and rushed up to Robin. "I'm so happy to see you!" she said as she ran. Unfortunately, she began to trip. Fortunately Chrom rushed forward and caught his wife before she fell. "Thanks." she said to her husband.

"No problem." Chrom responded.

"It's nice to see you Sumia." Robin said. Sumia gave him a quick and friendly hug. Her husband simply smiled, not at all feeling threatened. "It's nice to see some things don't change." Robin then said after he stepped out of Sumia's embrace.

"Tell me about it." said a man's voice that seemed to come from nowhere. Suddenly the man whom the voice belonged to appeared. He had silver armor with a few orange stripes.

"Kellam, It's good to see you." Robin said. "Though I swear that what will kill me isn't going to be bandits, undead warriors or evil dragons. It will be you appearing and giving me a heart-attack." he added in jest. Kellam smiled.

"It's good to see you too." Kellam said.

"Come everyone. We have a meeting to get through." Chrom said.

* * *

><p>"Lucina's group is the closest to us. We should be able to reach them within four day's time." Chrom said.<p>

Robin perked up as he heard this which instantly confused him. Chrom had mentioned Lucina's group last as they weren't planning on sending a messenger to them. The tactician quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"We should hold it in the capital." Frederick said.

"Where else would we hold it?" Chrom asked.

"Uh, hold what?" Robin asked causing everyone to stare at him.

"You weren't listening?" Chrom asked back, an eyebrow raised.

"Sorry, though in my defense I'm still a little out of it from coming back from the dead." Robin responded.

"Fine. We were discussing where we should hold the festival in honor of your return. Now before you argue hear me out." the Exalt said as he saw Robin open his mouth to argue. "The people see you as a hero, as they should. The Shepherds are exuberant, or the ones that know are. The ones that don't will be when they hear about your return. And we could all use the celebration."

Robin sighed. "Fine." he said.

* * *

><p>Lucina sighed. "We're getting nowhere." she muttered angrily. Her group had been searching relentlessly but couldn't find Robin. She was beginning to lose hope. "Perhaps I should give up and try to return 'home'." she thought, referring to the future. As she thought this a feeling of sadness appeared in her heart.<p>

"LUCINA! YOU WON"T BELIEVE IT!" Cynthia, Lucina's sister, shouted.

"What?" Lucina asked without enthusiasm. Cynthia had a tendency to overreact about anything and everything.

"Dad's group is coming and ROBIN IS WITH THEM!" Cynthia said, the last part shouted in a near shriek.

"You... you can't be serious." Lucina said, not daring to hope her sister was correct. Cynthia sighed at her pessimistic sister.

"Would I joke about something like this?" she asked, unknowingly and unwittingly echoing her aunt's words. Lucina rushed past her and Cynthia smiled knowingly.

As Lucina came close she saw that Cynthia was indeed correct. Chrom and his group were there, and the Shepherd's tactician was there with them. "ROBIN!" Lucina shouted with such glee that she surprised herself. Before she could think about what she was about to do, Lucina rushed forward and hugged Robin. After a few seconds her head cleared and she broke away as a faint blush appeared on her cheeks. Luckily for her no one noticed.

"Lucina, I'm glad to see you." Robin said. In fact, he was more then just glad. There was a certain feeling he felt that he had never felt before. It intensified as Lucina hugged him and lessened as she broke away. The tactician's eyes suddenly widened in understanding as realization hit him like a punch to the gut. "Sweet Naga, I'm in love with her." he thought. "I'm in love with Lucina." He probably would've blushed if Owain hadn't suddenly run up to him and began shouting some theatrical nonsense about his return from the dead.

Meanwhile Lucina had walked away after chatting a bit with her father. The princess was confused. Why did she act like that she wondered before realization hit her. "Oh Naga I love him. I love Robin." she muttered as another blush appeared on her cheeks, this one not as unnoticeable. Luckily no one was around to see it. Well, almost no one.

"And it's nice to know you realized it so fast." Cynthia said, appearing behind her older sister as silently and suddenly as Kellam would.

"AHH! Cynthia!" Lucina shouted in surprise. "How-"

"I heard you mutter to yourself." Cynthia said before her sister could finish. "Personally I think it's great!"

"It isn't." Lucina said miserably.

What do you mean?" Cynthia asked.

"I can't stay."

"What do you mean, 'you can't stay'?"

"I can't stay Cynhia! Maybe you're comfortable here but I'm not!" Lucina said, her sadness turning into anger. "I don't belong. NONE of us do! We came to stop our future from occurring. We accomplished that yet we still exist! I don't understand why but we still do. But we shouldn't! We don't belong!"

Cynthia looked at her sister as if she was crazy. "What do you mean 'we don't belong'? We fought for this world! We deserve to be here as much as anyone else."

"Our parents still have yet to give birth to most of us in this timeline. We're an obvious burden on them."

"That's not true!" Cynthia shouted back. It was a surprise that no one heard them by now. "Mom and Dad said we aren't a burden. All the shepherds told their children that they aren't burdens!"

"We will be." Lucina said, her previous misery returning. "Just wait until our current selves get old enough."

Cynthia sighed. "Fine. Let's say that you are a burden. What does that have to do with you and Robin.

"First, I can't stay here knowing that I'll be an issue. Second, he certainly doesn't love me."

"How can you be sure?"

"It makes no sense that he would! I'm his best friend's daughter. How would you feel about your best friend's child? Certainly not romantically! Not only that but my present self is almost three, over two decades his junior! How could he see me as a possible romantic interest if he constantly is reminded by how much younger I am?! There's no way he reciprocates my feelings."

"But that girl isn't you. Or she is but not you you. GAH! Stupid time travel!" Cynthia said.

"And this is exactly my first point." Lucina said. "Those kids are us. Maybe you're comfortable being around a younger version of yourself but I'm not!"

"So what are you going to do?" Cynthia asked.

"I already said. I'm leaving."

"Yeah, I know that. What I meant was when would you leave?" Cynthia asked.

"Now. When else?"

"But you can't!" Cynthia saw that she couldn't persuade her sister to stay but that didn't mean she agreed. Maybe if she got her to stay a bit longer Lucina would decide to stay on her own. Then she could work on her sister's love issues. "You can't just get up and go now! Stay a bit longer. Until the end of the festival at least!" Cynthia had overheard her father say something about a festival in Robin's honor. She quickly explained what she meant to her sister. Lucina sighed.

"Very well. But I will wait no longer after that."

* * *

><p>Two weeks later the festival was held. Robin was amazed and embarrassed by how much Chrom did. Chrom had decided to host a three day celebration, and the capitol had turned into a gigantic fair-ground. During the nights there was a gigantic ball held in the palace grounds. ("Entirely necessary milord." Frederick had told Chrom.) Luckily, no one forced Robin to dance as the tactician was a horrible dancer. Besides, there was no one he wanted to dance with.<p>

"Have you seen Lucina?" asked Sumia. Robin shook his head.

"Haven't seen her all day." he said. It was the third and final night and Lucina had been absent for it. "I wouldn't worry though. She's a grown woman and is perfectly capable of taking care of herself."

"True." Sumia said. "I guess I'm just being overly-motherly." She then smiled. "By the way, the new cloak looks great."

"Thanks." Robin said. He was wearing a different version of his plegian cloak. This one was navy blue where the other was black and silver where the other was purple. It also had the Mark of Naga where the Mark of Grima was on the plegian cloak. Chrom had given it to Robin before the festival and insisted he wear it whenever he was in Ylisstol or on a diplomatic mission. "I like it though I do miss my other cloak."

"It's formal attire." Sumia said. "I'd get used it if I were you. At least you don't have to wear it most of your day, every day."

Robin nodded. Sumia, being the queen, would obviously have to wear stuffy outfits most of the time and he wasn't jealous at all.

"I better get moving. I think I saw Tharja just now. She said earlier that she was going to have 'fun' tonight and, knowing her, I dread what that means." Robin said. Sumia grinned. Tharja's obsession with Robin was well known amongst the Shepherds.

"You better get going NOW." Sumia agreed. Robin quickly ducked away and began moving through the crowds.

The tactician then began scanning the crowds for Lucina. While he wasn't worried about her he did want to speak to her about his feelings towards her. "Perhaps she's avoiding me?" Robin thought. "Though why would she? It's not like I've done anything to let her know I'm in love with her so she shouldn't feel awkward around me."

As he pondered this, Chrom and Sumia came up to him."We need to talk to you about something." Chrom said, a serious look on his face while a sad one was on his wife's as opposed to the composed, if slightly worried, one she had earlier.

"What is it?" Robin asked.

"We shouldn't talk about it here." Chrom said. Sumia and him then led Robin away from everyone else. After a little bit the three got to an area in the palace not presently occupied. For a little bit nobody said anything. Then Sumia spoke.

"Lucina left."

Robin stared at her. "You... you can't be serious!" he said, louder then he intended to. "Sorry." he added, realizing he spoke too loudly. "I just can't believe it. She had spoken of leaving before but I never thought she'd actually do it."

"Neither did we." Chrom said. "We were hoping she would eventually come to be comfortable but it would seem we were wrong."

"How long has it been since she left?" Robin asked.

"Around an hour." Sumia answered. "One of the guards saw her as she left. She was wearing her 'Marth' mask."

"Then if we send-" Robin began but Chrom cut him off.

"I don't think we should send anyone after her." the Exalt said. He then gave Robin a letter. Robin read it silently, his eyes darting over the page.

_Dear Father, Mother, and whomever else this may concern_

_I hope this letter gets to you. It should, so long as a guard sees me throw this._

_I"m sure you're all familiar with how I said I would eventually leave. Now that Robin has been found I have nothing keeping me here. I know I promised Cynthia I'd stay till the end of the festival but I felt that if I stayed any longer I wouldn't be able to leave and my leaving is for the better I believe. _

_Father, I will always remember our training sessions. No matter how hard they were I actually had fun, something I never thought I could have, and was happy. I never was able to have times like these in my future and I thank you for allowing me to have these experiences with you. _

_Mother, while we may have not seen eye to eye about my... 'fashion sense', the moments when we went shopping together was something that I never thought I could have even in my wildest dreams. Thank you._

_Farewell all of you and please don't look for me._

_Sincerly, Lucina._

Robin looked up. "And we're just going to go along with this?" he asked.

Chrom nodded sadly. "As much as it pains us, both Sumia and I believe it would be unwise to go after her when she so clearly wishes to be left alone."

"We hope that one day she'll return. Until then we will wait." Sumia said.

Robin looked at them. "Very well." he said sadly.

* * *

><p>It had been a week since Lucina had left. During this time Robin had constantly been finding work to occupy himself, stopping only to eat, sleep (and when he did these things he did only the bare minimum) and train (they might not be at war but he felt he should always be ready to fight). It was the only way he could keep himself from obsessing over Lucina and her departure.<p>

Unfortunately he easily overworked himself and it was showing. Robin breathed heavily, he had dark circles under his eyes and his eyelids were, at best, half closed and at times they were closed completely. His hair was a mess and he stank. Chrom and Sumia were worried about him. Both had an idea on why he was doing this but he didn't want to talk. Finally Sumia went up to him.

"Robin, what's wrong?" Sumia asked. "And don't dodge the question."

Robin had opened his mouth but closed it after hearing that. Finally he spoke. "Nothing is wrong, Sumia. I just decided I should be more active in helping out around the palace."

"Robin that's a lie, and we both know it." Sumia said back in an exasperated tone. "It's one thing to want to help out. But you're overworking yourself and it's obvious. You walk around like a Risen. Actually that's not true. The Risen were faster then you are now and probably would have better reaction time then you at the moment. You're a mess and you don't respond right away. There's obviously something wrong. You're just trying to ignore it by doing all this work."

Robin sighed. He knew Sumia would see through his lie. She wasn't stupid. A klutz, yes (actually not so much anymore after marrying Chrom) but not a fool.

"I-" he began to say but Sumia cut him off.

"First bathe, Robin. You look horrible and, no offense, you don't smell good either. Then get something to eat. I've noticed you've hardly been eating. Finally get some rest. After that you'll talk with Chrom and myself." Sumia told the tactician.

"Fine." Robin submitted. "But first I have a question. When did you get so-"

"Bold?" the pegasus-rider finished with a smile. "Things can change in a year Robin. I realized that now that I'm queen I need to be a bit more bold and have an air of authority around me. I might've realized this sooner but when little Lucia came along I wasn't forced to be in the public eye as much as I was too busy being a mother." Lucia was the baby Lucina's new name that Chrom and Sumia chose. They did it to make Lucina's time easier.

Robin nodded in understanding and turned to go the the baths.

* * *

><p>"So what troubles you Robin?" asked Chrom. It was night and Robin had finally gotten enough sleep that he could talk with Chrom and Sumia. Robin took a deep breath. This was going to be the hardest thing he ever did. Even harder then any of his battles.<p>

"Chrom, Sumia," Robin began, turning to each one as he said their names. "I've... I've..."

"Just say it." Chrom said. "Heck, yell it if that helps."

"I've... I'VE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH LUCINA!" Robin shouted, breathing heavily. "Good lord, I can't believe it. That actually helped." Robin thought. "Though I hoped no one else heard."

Chrom and Sumia smiled. "And that's a problem because why?" Sumia asked.

"Is there anything wrong with her?" Chrom asked as well.

Robin glared at the. "You're mocking me aren't you?" he asked in accusation.

Sumia chuckled. "Teasing actually. It couldn't be helped." she admitted. "In all seriousness though I'm glad you admitted it." she said, regaining her composure.

"You knew?" asked Robin?

"Of course we knew. It was fairly simple to figure out." Chrom said. "You've been acting strangely ever since Lucina left and during the night we told you, you were very upset by it."

"And you're not upset that your best friend is in love with your daughter?" Robin asked.

"Of course not." Chrom said causing Robin to sigh in relief.

"That's good." the tactician thought.

"Now go after her." Chrom said.

"Wait, you're actually going to let me?!" Robin asked. He had a whole speech prepared about why they should and here he wasn't going to even need it?

"Yes. I know I did say it would be unwise to send men after her to force her back but you're going to go after her anyway, regardless of what I say so I might as well support you on this." Chrom said with a laugh.

"In all seriousness though," the Exalt continued with a more serious expression on his face. "Regret can destroy a person Robin. While I can't promise you that Lucina feels the same way towards you as you feel towards her I can tell you that never finding out can destroy you. Better to live with the knowledge that you tried then to live with the uncertainty of success or failure."

Robin nodded. "I'll leave tomorrow." he said.

"I'll take you." Sumia said. "Now, before you tell me it's unnecessary, I want you to remember that Lucina has a week advantage. If you're going to catch up you'll need to cover much more ground then you can on horseback. I'll fly you there."

Robin dipped his head down. "Thank you, Sumia." he said.

"However, I hope you have an idea on where to go as we don't know where she's going." Chrom said.

"I do. I'm not called the tactician of the shepherds for nothing." Robin said with a smile. "Lucina is trying to find a way to the future. The only being who could possibly help her is Naga. Therefor, she's probably going to try to contact her-"

"On Mount Prism." Chrom finished with a smile. "Genius, Robin."

"I know." the tactician said.

"I can take you to Breakneck Pass but I don't think I can go further." Sumia said. "You'll have to find a different form of transportation from there."

"I will." Robin said.

"Then it's settled. You two will leave tomorrow." Chrom said.

* * *

><p>Lucina was getting close to Mount Prism. She estimated she had roughly a day's journey left to go before she would reach the mountain where the Shepherds had encountered Naga. It was close to evening and she had decided to set up camp. As the sky turned orange in the last of the daylight Lucina's mind focused on an incident from nearly year ago that happened on an evening just like this one. The time she confronted Robin.<p>

"Could I really have killed him?" she wondered. After a few moments the answer came to her. No, she wouldn't have been able to bring her blade on to him. She had been in love with him even then, even if she didn't realize it.

"Why can't I just let it go?" she muttered angrily. The more she thought about the master tactician the harder it was to bear her decision. "It's for the best." she thought to herself, trying to stave away the rebellious thoughts. But was it? Her parents were probably upset, her sister probably hurt.

"They'll get over it." she thought, though she couldn't manage to entirely believe that. And even if she did there was another thing that bothered her.

"He couldn't possibly love me." Lucina thought. This she entirely believed to be true but that wasn't enough to stave off the pain she felt when she thought of him and the regret she felt about not telling him how she felt.

"So the princess has arrived." said a voice. Lucina quickly turned around to see a man. He wore robes of the Grimleal and held a dark sword that seemed to radiate evil in his hand. Lucina quickly pulled out Falchion.

"Who are you?" she asked. "And what do you mean by 'princess'?"

"Please don't insult me. I happen to know you use that mask to hide your identity as the Exalt's daughter. As for your first question, my name is Sayrune." the man, Sayrune, said. I was one of the chief priests of Grima."

"Your master is no more yet you still wear those robes that signify you follow him?" Lucina questioned.

Sayrune smiled. "My master may be destroyed but his essence lives on. It always will."

"Why are you here?" Lucina asked, though she feared she already knew the answer. Her suspicions were confirmed with Sayrune's next words.

"Why, to kill you of course."

Lucina ran forward as she heard him say that, bringing Falchion up. She then slashed it downwards but her blade connected with Sayrune's.

"You may be an accomplished swordsman, but I am not only that," Sayrune began. The man then stopped speaking and began to chant. Lucina's eyes widened and the woman leapt back as Sayrune shot lightning from his free hand. "But a master sorcerer as well." he ended.

"Oh, and I won't be your only opponent." Sayrune brought his hands up and chanted. Suddenly, the ground bubbled with dark energy and from that dark energy emerged undead warriors, fully armored and missing no limbs.

"Risen!" Lucina said in shock. "But how?!"

"As I said, my master's essence lives on. You can't stop the destruction my dear. You can only postpone it." Sayrune said. Lucina began slashing at the Risen. Unfortunately for every one she cut down, two would take her place. Soon though, she began to gain ground and get closer to Sayrune. The Grimleal priest smiled evilly though. The girl was getting tire. He no longer need the Risen. She was now in the perfect position to be susceptible to his next move.

Sayrune drew upon dark energy and began to chant. Suddenly the area and Sayrune disappeared and Lucina found herself watching something from her nightmares. She saw her father on the floor with a smoking wound from a stab of electricity. The wound had been caused by a robed and hooded man, standing near the corpse.

"Robin?" Lucina asked, afraid of the answer. The man turned to he looked just like Robin, his eyes were red.

"Robin no longer exists." the figure said. "There is only Grima!"

Lucina shook her head. This couldn't be happening. They destroyed Grima! "You... you can't be real!"

"Oh but I am." Grima said. "And you are DEAD!" With that Grima threw a ball of shadow energy at her. As the energy got closer it filled her vision until...

Suddenly Lucina could see again. She was now surrounded by Risen warriors. She wasn't alone however.

"Lucina!" shouted a familiar voice. Lucina turned around to see Cynthia spearing one of the Risen. "Focus sis! If we want to get out of this alive we need you to keep calm and focus!"

"I... wha-" Lucina began but Laurent, who was also next to her, spoke up.

"I concur. The probability of us winning this is zero our leader is- AGHH!" Lucina stared in horror as she saw Laurent get cut down by a Risen swordsman. She became even more horrified as she saw the rest of the children of the future, who were all with her, were slain as well.

"No...NO!"she shouted. Lucina closed her eyes...

Only to open them to see Risen still surrounding her but in a different setting. While before she was in a city she was now in a field.

"What's happening?" she thought as she automatically parried then sliced a Risen warrior.

"Lucina, heads up!" she heard a very familiar voice shout from above. Lucina looked up to see her mother riding on a pegasus, a javelin at the ready. The relief she felt turned into horror as she saw a bolt of electricity race up and hit her mother's mount. The beast roared in pain and plummeted.

"Mother!" Lucina shouted as she saw her mother fall with her mount. Once more the scene changed.

* * *

><p>Sayrune smiled evilly. His hex had worked perfectly. It was no simple hex though. It caused powerful illusions, so powerful that eventually anyone would believe them, no matter how steadfast their will was or how much the illusions contradicted reality. And it seemed like the princess had finally fallen for it.<p>

While the hex drew upon much power he didn't need it for long. No, he just needed it to incapacitate her long enough for his blade to finish the job. Sayrune walked towards her, unable to go faster as the hex taxed him of his energy.

He was halfway towards the princess when he heard a rage filled voice shout out "ARCTHUNDER!" Sayrune turned around, bringing his blade up as he did so. He did it just in time as it only just blocked the stream of lightning that came from the spell. The man who casted the spell looked livid, his face showing his fury. "ARCWIND!" he shouted and a blast of wind smashed into Sayrune, sending the sorcerer flying away from Lucina. Sayrune quickly got back up.

"So, the traitor returns." he hissed.

"What do you mean?" asked Robin.

"Your the son of Validar, the head of us, the priests of Grima when he was alive! You were supposed to be Grima's vessel! Instead you turned away from your destiny and embraced the enemy! You killed your father and destroyed the Fell Dragon!" Sayrune shouted, his face twisted in fury.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again! We're not pawns of some scripted fate! Our destinies are not set in stone! I chose to aid Chrom and the Shepherds, chose to help defeat the Fell Dragon. I am a Shepherd and they are my family. That was my choice. You've made yuors. And now," Robin pulled out his Levin Sword. "You'll pay!"

With that Robin leapt forward, his sword at the ready. He brought it up, then down, hoping to bring his sword down onto Sayrune's head. However, the sorcerer was too fast and he easily blocked the blow with his sword.

"You fool! I am Sayrune, chief of the Grimleal priests, second only to your father when he was still alive! I wield a blade forged from a claw of Grima himself! It's dark magic could poison and kill you with a simple nick! Your weak sword is nothing compared to mine!" With that Sayrune pushed forward and caused Robin to stumble back.

"Maybe his sword is no match but mine, as we saw before, most certainly is!" Suddenly Lucina leapt forward delivering a series of brutal slashes and thrusts that sent Sayrune on the defensive.

"Lucina! You're alright!" Robin said in relief.

"Thanks to you. You were able to distract him which caused his 'spell' to weaken enough for me to break through." Lucina said. "Now, let's finish him!"

"Fools! It matters not how many you have! I will still defeat you!" Sayrune said. The three once again clashed. The battle went on for a while, slashing and parrying, a beautiful standstill. However, it was not to last. After using a Wind spell on Lucina to send her flying back, Sayrune feinted a thrust at Robin's shoulder flicking his blade down at the last second. The tactician ended up trying to guard his shoulder and the blade slashed through his cloak.

"AGGHHH!" Robin cried out in pain as he slumped down.

"ROBIN!" Lucina cried out in terror. This couldn't be happening. Not even the nightmarish illusions had something as horrible as this.

"The foolish traitor is done for." Sayrune said, turning to Lucina. His evil smile was larger and even more wicked, taunting her. "The dark magic in this sword has poisoned him and he is dying. He has stopped crying out. He probably is knocked out." The sorcerer was right. Robin was silent.

No...no...NO!" Lucina shouted. Her face suddenly became masked with fury and she charged at the sorcerer. Before he could cast a spell she began her to barrage him with slashes and thrusts. It took all of the sorcerer's skill and concentration to be able to stay alive by blocking Lucina's attacks.

Finally he managed to catch her blade on his and the two began to struggle for control. Neither risked taking a hand of their hilt to try to punch the other or to try to kick the other, too worried that they'd lose leverage or power. Suddenly their noses caught an unexpected smell. The smell of burning. The two combatants automatically turned their heads to see Robin standing upright, lightning crackling in his hand.

"THORON!" Robin shouted and the lightning raced straight at Sayrune. It smashed straight into the sorcerer and he screamed in pain as electricity surged through his body before finally falling down dead. Lucina had backed away as soon as she saw Robin cast the spell and now stood in shock.

"Wha...What happened?" she asked.

"I killed him." Robin said as he walked up to Lucina.

"But how?! A moment ago you were on the floor knocked out and dying!" Lucina asked.

"Was I? Better take a closer look." Robin said. Lucina looked at him and her eyes widened. Robins robes were indeed slashed but that was the extent of the damage.

"I fooled him into thinking his sword got me. While he was busy with you I charged up Thoron. I apologize for having to fool you as well but there was no time to explain my plan." Robin said in an apologetic tone.

"I understand." Lucina said back. She couldn't be upset with him, not after he saved her life. "I do have one question though. What made you take the gamble that he wouldn't attack you once you were down?"

Robin chuckled. "First, I still had my Levin Sword just in case he did try. Second, his vanity gave him away. He said that his blade was from Grima and would poison me. I figured he wouldn't bother attacking me if he believed I would die anyway. He also let me know about his personal agenda with me. I figured he would rather let me die slowly from my wound then quickly end me."

Lucina smiled and shook her head in wonder. "You are indeed a master tactician." she said in amazement.

"I try." Robin said casually.

"Why are you here?" Lucina then asked. "You showed up in time to save me but there's no way you knew that I was fighting when I started."

Robin nodded. "You're right, of course. I came for a different reason. To take you back."

Lucina stiffened. "I guess you didn't know I asked not to be followed." she said.

"No, I did know." Robin responded. "But I came anyway. Please Lucina, come back."

Lucina shook her head. "I'm sorry but I can't." she said.

"Why? You're father and mother both have shown that they're happy to have you. The shepherds have accepted you since the start. All the other 'Children of the Future' are staying, even if some are going off on journeys. Why don't you?" Robin asked.

"Because I can't!" Lucina shouted. "I don't feel right being here! Maybe the other children do but I don't! At least their parents haven't given birth to them yet but mine already had me!"

"True, but their parents WILL have them. Yet they don't mind." Robin said, his patience slowly wearing thin.

"I don't know why they don't but I do! I feel alien, like I don't belong! No, not just like. I DON"T belong!" As Lucina said this tears began to fill her eyes. "Maybe they feel this way because they were able to find love with someone from their time but I couldn't! I'm alone!"

Robin cringed as he heard her say that. "Your parents-" he began to say but was cut off.

"Would be better off without me! What will people think, seeing a strange woman around the palace?!"

"Many people know of you already, Lucina." Robin said. "And while they don't know of your heritage they won't find it odd you live in the palace. I do now. They'll probably assume that, as a 'friend' of Chrom's they let you stay there."

"It's still strange! What will my younger self think growing up around me? Someone who looks the same? Someone who sounds the same?"

"She'll probably see you as an older sister." Robin answered. "Lucina, I've answered all your questions and claims." he continued.

"It maks no difference. I still can't stay." Lucina said.

"For the love of- WHY?! Why can't you stay?! What haven't I answered?!" Robin shouted.

"This! I can't stay because the more I stay the pain I'm in! I came back to change the timeline and I ended up falling in love with a man from this time! A man who could never possibly love me back! Sure he'll protect me in battle but he could never love me!" By now the tears were flowing freely down Lucina's face. "The longer I'm around him the more pain I feel. I can't stay! I don't belong! No one can love me! Better I leave so he can have a normal life."

Robin looked at the woman in front of him in shock. He never saw Lucina lose control like this before. "Lucina, I don't know how this man feels about you but I do know this. Someone can love you. Because I do." Lucina stopped sobbing and looked at the master tactician in shock. She couldn't possibly be hearing this.

"Am I still stuck in those illusions?" she wondered before discarding the thought. If she was still under the effects of Sayrune's hex she wouldn't be hearing something that would make her so happy. Maybe she'd see Robin telling her he hated her but not that he loved her.

"I understand if you feel awkward and would wish I didn't feel like this. But I can't change how I feel about you." Robin said. "I just wanted you to know, before you leave, that this is how I feel. If you really feel so much pain then I wouldn't want to stop you. I don't want you to be in pain. If this is the only solution I accept it."

"You don't need to." Lucina said. Robin looked at her oddly. "You don't need to because I'm not going." Lucina smiled and even if her face was stained with tears Robin was dazzled by its beauty. The tactician was shocked but the surprise he felt was nothing compared to how he was about to feel. Lucina stood on the tips of her toes and and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a kiss. She held it for a moment before breaking it. Robin stood there dazed. For once, the master tactician was stumped.

"Why should I leave. You've addressed all my concerns." Lucina said. "Including the one about love."

Robin looked at her, not daring to believe his ears. "I'm the one?" he asked softly. Lucina smirked.

"It seems like one kiss wasn't enough to get it into your head." she said and kissed him again, this time holding it for a minute. This time Robin pulled away.

"Okay, I think that answers my question." he said bemusedly. "It's just, I can't believe it."

"I hardly can either." Lucina admitted. "I never thought you could love me back."

Robin looked at her, a smile on his face so bright that it lit up the world. "Well I do!" he said enthusiastically and picked up Lucina from her hips and spun her around. He put her back down after one spin and the two rested their heads on each other, Lucina on Robin's chest and Robin's on Lucina's shoulder. They held the pose for a minute before Robin broke away.

"I need to move my camp here." he said. Lucina nodded to show she understood and Robin left. He came back after a few minutes wit hall his supplies packed up and with a horse (he borrowed it from an inn). The two ate a quick dinner then went to sleep.

* * *

><p>"I'm glad to hear that everything turned out okay in the end." Chrom said. The Exalt was sitting with Sumia, Lucina and Robin. The tactician had recounted what had happened after Sumia dropped him off. Nothing else happened after Sayrune's appearance and defeat. Lucina and him had gotten back after a little more then a week.<p>

"And we're glad to hear that you two are together." Sumia said. "I'll have to start planning a wedding."

"MOTHER!"

"SUMIA!"

Chrom laughed at his daughter's and tactician's reaction. "In all seriousness though, I'm worried about what Sayrune's appearance could mean." the Exalt said after calming down. Robin nodded.

"You're also worried that he isn't the only one who could possibly be an issue. That there are others like him." Robin said. It wasn't really a question but Chrom nodded anyway.

"We could be looking at the beginnings of another threat from the Grimleal and the Risen." Chrom said.

"I wouldn't be too worried." Lucina said. Everyone turned to her. "Our bonds are what strengthen us. And our newest bond-" As she said this Lucina took Robin's hand her own. "Is the strongest one yet."

Robin smiled and nodded. "We're in this together and I wouldn't have it any other way." Robin said.

Chrom and Sumia shared a smile. They had their daughter back and she was in love with their best-friend who loved her back and was certainly dedicated to her. No matter what the future would hold the present looked bright.


End file.
